An intersection near our house has experienced a number of severe accidents. Two within a ten day period a year ago.

March 10, 2017 accident

Both occurred during rush hour. The city has since put up a sign prohibiting anything but a right turn between 3 and 6 p.m.

March 1, 2017 accident

Unfortunately it is pretty much completely disregarded. A stream of cars is passing by our house right now, and I guarantee very few will be turning right when they get to the stop sign.

We moved into our house in August 2001. It didn’t take long before I decided that same intersection was dicey at best. Since then I’ve never done anything but make right turns there, no matter the time of day.

What’s with people?

I have not been aware of accidents in the past year. But there hadn’t been many in the previous 15 years or so either. It’s not safe. Period.

Again, watching the Sounders play Santa Tecla of El Salvador tonight (on Univision BTW), I am struck by the international nature of the game. While the Seattle roster is dominated by Americans, it has representatives from every continent, excluding Antarctica of course.

And when did you ever see an NFL or NBA team play a team from a small Central American country? I think soccer is a great equalizer in the world of sports.

I have a gun. I shot it once. It’s a 9mm Luger pistol from WWII. I don’t know its complete history, other than my Uncle brought it home from the war and gave it to my dad. I’d guess there are pretty good odds it was used to kill someone, or many someones.

When I was a kid, and my dad showed it to me, I thought it was “cool” looking. I thought about it often, and wanted to hold it, or show it off to friends. I don’t think dad had any ammunition for it. Later, my brother had it, and bought ammo for it. I think he even did some target shooting with it. Then it got passed on to me.

Now I want it out of the house. If an immediate family member wants it they can have it. Otherwise I’ll see if a military museum wants it.

We also had a .22 rifle in the house. I believe it had belonged to my brother. No ammo for that either, but I got to do target shooting at scout camp with similar rifles. I think I did okay at that, not sniper material, but okay.

We weren’t a hunting family and we didn’t ever live in the country. Our outdoor activities were hiking, bird watching, gardening, and a little camping. That I am aware of, nobody in my immediate family has so much as had a weapon pointed at them, except possibly during military service. And I’ve always wondered how it would play out if I walked around with a pistol under my coat, and a guy walked up and pointed a gun at me. Would I outdraw him like in a Hollywood western? I mean really?

So, let’s talk about the Second Amendment. “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

What are arms? “weapons and ammunition; armaments.” Let that stew for a minute. Essentially, that’s everything the military has that can cause death and destruction. Would you be okay with surface to air missiles available to the general public? You know, something that can knock a commercial airliner out of the sky? A Stinger missile apparently costs about $38,000. Not in the price range for all of us, but the wealthy could stockpile them. Or maybe a private militia. But I don’t think we are allowed to own them. Or at least there are a lot of regulations with hoops to jump through before you can get one. Huh. What a concept.

How about chemical weapons? Anyone think those should be in the hands of a libruhl like me?

I guess my point is, these things are difficult to obtain. So why is something like an AR-15 so easy to buy?

Not too long ago, some Republican pol stated that he essentially didn’t believe that retirement should be a thing. I don’t remember who it was, but he was trying to defend the idea of cutting Social Security and Medicare. I think he even tried to defend his thinking with Biblical context. You just work until you die.

The problem is that more and more it seems as if it’s work that won’t be a thing. Good paying jobs are becoming increasingly scarce due to the rapid development of technology. So, what happens when high unemployment becomes the norm?

Recently, we’ve been hearing more and more about the concept of “universal basic income.” As I understand it, all Americans would receive a regular payment which would be enough to meet basic needs: shelter, clothing, food, basic utilities, etc. I assume this would come from tax revenue.

WHAT?! TAXES?! NOOOOO!

Yes, taxes.

“Well, who’s going to pay these taxes?” you say.

My answer? Those who have benefited the most from putting people out of work. The corporations, their wealthiest shareholders, et al should have higher taxes. Tax revenue will have to increase a huge amount to cover a program like this.

Of course, the right will scream, “socialism!” Yes it is. Won’t it be ironic that capitalism caused it’s necessity?

Best Picture? And Mudbound isn’t even nominated? Nuh uh. I’ve liked others of Anderson’s movies, and this one is indeed quite stylish, but it ain’t best picture material. You can make an argument for acting, but if it wins Best Picture I’ll be shocked. My favorites currently are Get Out, Three Billboards, and Ladybird, in that order.

We watched the excellent, heartbreaking documentary, “Last Men in Aleppo” last night. It’s available on Netflix currently. It follows a number of men, known as White Helmets, who work to rescue and recover victims of the bombings in Aleppo, Syria. The courage and sacrifice exhibited by these men is humbling. Still three we haven’t seen in the Documentary category, but this is currently my favorite.

We don’t often see the nominees for best documentary prior to the Oscars. But Netflix changes that. Currently three of the nominees are on Netflix: Strong Island, Last Men in Aleppo, and Icarus. We saw Strong Island. It was okay. We’re in the middle of Last Men in Aleppo, which is very moving so far. Looking forward to seeing Icarus. Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, I believe is available on Amazon Prime, so hopefully we’ll see that too.

Sometime around second or third grade I started to put on weight. Junk food and TV did it. Mom had to start shopping in the Husky Boys department of the clothing store. And no, that’s not a U of W thing.

At school I got teased a fair amount for being fat. My true friends were generally better to me. Right before my senior year of high school I lost a bunch of weight. That felt pretty good. Through college I managed to keep most of it off, but I wasn’t what one would call lean.

But, over time I gained it back. I actually weigh more than I ever did, but it doesn’t show as much due to having more muscle mass.

The thing that’s on my mind is the idea of body shaming. When I was teased for being chubby it hurt, a lot. But I was a kid and things hurt more then. I knew I wanted to not be overweight. What bothers me now is that we seem to have given up on the idea that carrying too much extra weight is unhealthy. We have to be cautious of how we discuss the topic. There’s a reason my late father-in-law, an insurance guy, referred to certain people as, “uninsurable.”

I hold with those who say obesity is a public health crisis in the United States, and we must be able to discuss it. It’s a complex issue, and the reasons for obesity are different for each case, but it has to be talked about. Even our President, who I do not believe had a golden-years growth spurt, needs to lose weight, and that ain’t happening with his diet and exercise routine.